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Ko EJ, Kim DY, Kim MH, An H, Kim J, Jeong JY, Song KS, Cha HJ. Functional Analysis of Membrane-Associated Scaffolding Tight Junction (TJ) Proteins in Tumorigenic Characteristics of B16-F10 Mouse Melanoma Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:833. [PMID: 38255907 PMCID: PMC10815660 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25020833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Tight junction (TJ) proteins (Tjps), Tjp1 and Tjp2, are tight junction-associated scaffold proteins that bind to the transmembrane proteins of tight junctions and the underlying cytoskeleton. In this study, we first analyzed the tumorigenic characteristics of B16-F10 melanoma cells, including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, metastatic potential, and the expression patterns of related proteins, after the CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout (KO) of Tjp genes. The proliferation of Tjp1 and Tjp2 KO cells significantly increased in vitro. Other tumorigenic characteristics, including migration and invasion, were significantly enhanced in Tjp1 and Tjp2 KO cells. Zonula occludens (ZO)-associated protein Claudin-1 (CLDN-1), which is a major component of tight junctions and functions in controlling cell-to-cell adhesion, was decreased in Tjp KO cells. Additionally, Tjp KO significantly stimulated tumor growth and metastasis in an in vivo mouse model. We performed a transcriptome analysis using next-generation sequencing (NGS) to elucidate the key genes involved in the mechanisms of action of Tjp1 and Tjp2. Among the various genes affected by Tjp KO-, cell cycle-, cell migration-, angiogenesis-, and cell-cell adhesion-related genes were significantly altered. In particular, we found that the Ninjurin-1 (Ninj1) and Catenin alpha-1 (Ctnna1) genes, which are known to play fundamental roles in Tjps, were significantly downregulated in Tjp KO cells. In summary, tumorigenic characteristics, including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, tumor growth, and metastatic potential, were significantly increased in Tjp1 and Tjp2 KO cells, and the knockout of Tjp genes significantly affected the expression of related proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun-Ji Ko
- Departments of Parasitology and Genetics, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea or (E.-J.K.); (D.-Y.K.); (M.-H.K.); (H.A.)
- Institute for Cancer Genetics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Do-Ye Kim
- Departments of Parasitology and Genetics, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea or (E.-J.K.); (D.-Y.K.); (M.-H.K.); (H.A.)
| | - Min-Hye Kim
- Departments of Parasitology and Genetics, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea or (E.-J.K.); (D.-Y.K.); (M.-H.K.); (H.A.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyojin An
- Departments of Parasitology and Genetics, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea or (E.-J.K.); (D.-Y.K.); (M.-H.K.); (H.A.)
| | - Jeongtae Kim
- Department of Anatomy, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea;
- Institute for Medical Science, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea; (J.-Y.J.); (K.S.S.)
| | - Jee-Yeong Jeong
- Institute for Medical Science, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea; (J.-Y.J.); (K.S.S.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyoung Seob Song
- Institute for Medical Science, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea; (J.-Y.J.); (K.S.S.)
- Departments of Medical Life Science, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee-Jae Cha
- Departments of Parasitology and Genetics, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea or (E.-J.K.); (D.-Y.K.); (M.-H.K.); (H.A.)
- Institute for Medical Science, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49241, Republic of Korea; (J.-Y.J.); (K.S.S.)
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